Article confining capsule



United States Patent Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee Allison E. Pech San Jose, California 736,239

April 22, 1968 Division of Ser. No. 473,107, July 19, 1965, now Patent No. 3,473,934.

Oct. 27, 1970 FMC Corporation San Jose, California a corporation of Delaware ARTICLE CONFINING CAPSULE 5 Claims, 27 Drawing Figs.

u.s. Cl

220/ l 7; 206/46 B65d 7/04 220/8.42(A), 17. 9; 206/46(m): 2l5ll2: 99/359 Int. Cl i. Field of Search...

. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 425,646 4/1890 Wykoff 220/42(A)UX 3,077,979 2/1963 Jones 220/3X FOREIGN PATENTS 412,609. 7/1934 Great Britain 229/89 Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance AttorneyFrancis W. Anderson ABSTRACT: A capsule for confining a frangible or deformable container during heat treatment includes an inner tubular body having one end substantially closed and its other end open for telescopically receiving the container, and an outer tubular body having one end substantially closed and the other end open for loosely'and telescopically receiving the cartridge and container therein. The substantially closed ends of the outer and inner bodies are magnetically attractable, and a nonmagnetic means is provided for preventing the open end of the inner body from magnetically clinging to the closed end of the outer body.

Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,225

Sheet of 15 F'IG l JAR CONVEYOR a CAPSULE UNLOADER 58 20 WI T 1:3 20 ER \ee 66 e4,

ATMOSPHERIC COOLE L t CARTRIDGE PRESSURE COOLER RETURN CONVEYOR 6 2 3T CARRIER RETURN couvsvon- ATMOSPHERIC PREHEATER i STERILIZER 7O 48 46 PRESSURE PREHEATER m n r 80 '78 232 PRESSURE PREHEATER INVEN'I'OR ALLISON E. PECH ATTORNEYS Patntd' Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet 2 0115 H6 INVENTOR ALLISON 5. PEG" 7 n 104 F'IE E ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet 3 of 15 INVENIOR ALLISON s. PEGH ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,225

Sheet 4' 0115 INVEN'IOR ALLISON E. PEG" BY 60. MM

7 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,225

Sheet 5 of 15 INVENI'OR I ATTORNEYS ALLISON E. PEGH Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet Q or 15 mvsmon ALLISON E. PEGI'I Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,225

Sheet 3 of 15 F I E: l 5 246 I ALL g r Pzcn BY J40.

a ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet [Q 01'15 4 1 n n n 9 1... 0 i

--II F Z All/lain i wm 00v m mmv Nvm vmm NW @QM H c in ma N mo 5 L L A G mm ATTORNEYS Patented Get. 27, 1970 Sheet [1 of 15 INVEN'I'OR ALLISON E. PEGH i ii mmm A'ITORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet /3 of 15 ALLISON E. PEG" ATTORNEYS Nm OQV NN I H I-MIHHI ARTICLE CONFINING CAPSULE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of my application Ser. No. 473,107 filed on July 19, 1965, which application issued as US. Pat. No. 3,473,934 on Oct. 21, 1969.

The present invention pertains to a continuous sterilizing system and more particularly relates to a method of and apparatus for processing products in containers such as glass jars and bottles.

When food products such-as milk are sterilized in glass jars, a certain amount of breakage always occurs due to defective jars being subjected to mechanical or thermal shocks. Although this breakage may be minor, when jars are handled in reel and spiral rotary cookers, the broken jars will build up on the floor of the cookers and will interfere with the unbroken jars thereby incurring still greater breakage.

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a method of and apparatus for processing products in glass jars without risking the danger of process interference because ofjar breakage.

Another object is to provide a method of and apparatus for processing glass jars in reel and spiral cookers and coolers without danger of process interference because of glass jar breakage.

Another object is to provide a method of and apparatus for individually confining containers, such as glass jars, for subjecting the confined containers to a heat treatment process while confined, and for releasing the containers from individual confinement only after completion of the heat treatment process.

Another object is to provide apparatus for individually confining containers in capsules and for advancing the confined containers completely through a heat treatment apparatus before opening the capsules and discharging the containers, either broken or intact, externally of theheat treatment apparatus.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for individually confining jars in capsules.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for removing encapsulated jars from confinement.

Another object is to provide a capsule for individually confining jars therein.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for draining water from a pressure processing chamber and for introducing said water into an atmospheric processing chamber.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan diagrammatically illustrating a preferred disposition of the components of the sterilizing system of the present invention on a work floor.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic end elevation of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1, illustrating the placement of five reeland-spiral type processing units through which the glass jars are passed.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrating a hot water recirculation system interconnecting the pressure preheater with an atmospheric preheater.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded perspective, partly broken away, illustrating the position of a jar relative to a cartridge and carrier of the present invention prior to being encapsulated within the cartridge and carrier.

FIG. 5 is a vertical central section through a telescoping capsule formed by the cartridge and carrier, illustrating the manner in which ajar is confined therein.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation with parts broken away illustrating a second embodiment of the telescoping capsule, which embodiment includes a plastic cartridge.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged end elevation. with parts broken away, illustrating the capsule loader and the mechanism for feeding the loaded capsules into the atmospheric preheater of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged front elevation of the capsule loader of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on lines 9-9 on FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken along lines 10-10 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a vertical section taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 8.

FIGS. 12 and 12A are arcuate sections forming a diagrammatic developed view of the inner surface of the shell of the capsule loader, FIG. 12 being taken along lines 12-12 of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12A being taken along lines 12A-12A, and the sections being arranged so that when the sections are placed end-to-end with lines x-x of FIG. 12 overlying lines y-y of FIG. 12A the complete view of the inner surface is formed.

FIGS. l3, l4 and 15 are enlarged diagrammatic vertical sections taken along lines 13-13, 14-14 and 15-15 of FIG. 11, respectively.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 16-16 of FIG. 15 illustrating a cartridge and carrier aligning device.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 17-17 ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged horizontal section taken along lines 18-18 of FIG. 7 illustrating a reject mechanism and a capsule letdown device.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged section taken along lines 19-19 of FIG. 18 illustrating the manner of rejecting an improperly formed capsule.

FIG. 20 is a diagrammatic perspective of a capsule twister and a capsule unloader shown associated with an atmospheric cooler, the view being taken looking substantially in the direction indicated by lines 20-20 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the capsule unloader of FIG. 20, certain parts being broken away.

FIG. 22 is an enlarged perspective, with parts broken away, of the carrier discharge end of the capsule unloader.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 23-23 ofFIG.21.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 24-24 of FIG. 21.

FIG. 25 is a diagrammatic perspective illustrating the drive for the capsule twister and capsule unloader of the system.

FIG. 26 is a perspective showing the structure for mounting certain magnets used in the capsule unloader.

The continuous sterilizing system of the present invention is provided for the purpose of processing containers such as glass jars .1 (FIG. 4) in reel and spiral cookers and coolers in such a manner that, even ifa container breaks, it will not interfere with the sterilizing process.

Although the containers J will hereinafter be referred to as glass jars, it will be appreciatedthat other articles such as containers made of plastic, aluminum, or other material, said articles being either symmetrical or irregular in configuration, may also be handled in the apparatus of the present invention. For example, nonrolling containers such as those that are square or hexagonal in transverse cross section may be processed.

In general, the sterilizing process is performed in an apparatus which is adapted to handle jars .I that are first filled with a product such as milk, and are then closed and capped by a conventional filling and closing apparatus that is indicated generally by the numeral 30 (FIG. 1). Each jar is then advanced into a capsule loader 32 of an encapsulating and loading apparatus 33 and is positioned between a cartridge 34 and a carrier 36 as indicated in FIG. 4. As the jar J, cartridge 34, and carrier 36 are advanced through the capsule loader 32, the cartridge 34 and the carrier 36 are urged into telescoped relation to provide a capsule 38, with the jar positively confined or encapsulated therein as indicated in FIG. 5. The capsule 38 with the container confined therein is then successively fed into water at approximately l402l2F. in I an atmospheric preheater 40 (FIG. 1); into steam at approximately 23$F. in a pressure preheater 42; into steam at apmoves the capsule38 from a horizontal to an upright position.

The capsule I 3 8 is then moved to a capsule unloader 52 wherein the carrier 36 and cartridge 34 are magnetically withdrawn from around the jar, and the jar is discharged from the system by a conveyor 54. The empty cartridge 34 and carrier 36 are then returned to the capsule loader 32 by return conveyors 56 and 58, respectively.

Five heattreatment vessels 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48 have been" I shown in the preferred embodiment of FIGSil arid 2, howformed integrally with the body 82 and has an opening 88 therein to permit the heat treating medium to enter the capsule 38. Dimples 90 are formed in the cylindrical body 82 near 7 the end plate 86 to project inwardly and engage the jar and act I plate86.

ever, it will be understood that other numbers and arrangements of vessels may be employed. The vessels are of the reeland-spiral type and may be constructed and arranged as indicated indetail in US. Pat. No. 2,536,115 to P.'C. Wilbur.

Although the Wilbur patent discloses angle carrier bars, it is to be understood that curved carrier bars may be substituted for the angle bars which curved barsmaybe of the type disclosed in the patent to Mencacci No. 3,18 l ,692. t v

As seen in FIG. 7, each vessel comprises a generally cylindrical shell 51' in which an elongate reel 53 is journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis. A plurality of longitudinally extending angle bars 55 are secured to the' periphery'of the reel to form a series of longitudinally extending can channels. A T-iron guide track 57 is secured toiand extends in a helical path around the inside of the shell froman inlet opening at one end ofthe vessel to a discharge opening at the otheri As the reel rotates, the helical guide track 57 causes the cans to move longitudinally in the shell toward the discharge opening while being subjected to a heating or cooling medium in the vessel. The processing temperatures of the treating medium and the time of treatment may vary according to the product being 'handled, and may have the values disclosed in the above-mentioned Wilbur patent, if milk is the product being handled.

The reels of all processing vessels are continuously driven by a motor 62 (FIG. I) and a gear train comprising mating gears 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78 and 80, the gear 64 being keyed to the motor drive shaft and the other gears being keyed to the 7 drive shafts of associated reels. 7

. Although the present application completely discloses and broadly claims the encapsulating-and loading apparatus 33, the capsule twister 50, and the'capsule unloader 52 and their interaction, the details of each of these structures are claimed in the following separate l applications filed on even date herewith. The encapsulating and loading apparatus has been described and claimed in an application of MiltonL. Croall et al. for US. Letters Pat. having Ser. No. 472,969, which issued on June I8, I968 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,528; the capsule twister 50 has been described and claimed in an application of Milton L. Croall for U5. Letters Pat..having Ser. No. 472,975, which issued on Apr. 18, I967 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,3 14,522; and the capsule unloader has been described and claimed in an apas a stop which prevents the cap of the jar from contacting the end plate 86. If such contact'were permitted, lithography on the jar caps could be damaged by engagement with the end The carrier 36 of each capsule 38 is similar in appearance to the cartridge 34 and includes a cylindrical body 92 of slightly greater diameter than the body 82. The body 92 has an open 7 end 94 which receives the cartridge 34, and a partially closed I end defined by a plate 96 integral with the body and having an opening 98 therein. In order to minimize magnetic attractionbetween the open end 84 of. the cartridge and the end plate 96 a of the carrier when the end plate 96 is subjected to a magnetic force, an apertured dish 100 of nonmagnetic material is rigidly secured to the inside surface of the end plate 96, and includes an annular flange 102 which is spaced from the plate 96 and substantially breaks any'magnetic force tending to pull the carrier and cartridge toward each other.

The capsule 38a, shown in FIG. 6, is a second embodiment which is' provided to handle jars having embossed words or legends projecting outwardly from theouter periphery of the jars. It has been discovered that such legends become marked if the jars are permitted to roll within metal cartridges such as that shown in FIG. 5.

The capsule 38a (FIG. 6) comprises a plastic cartridge 340 which supports the jar but. does not mar it and includes a cylindrical body 104 having one end open and the other end substantially closed by an end plate 106 having a hole 108 therein. The end plate 106 of the cartridge is impregnated with aferrous materialso that the cartridge 34a can be magneticallyattracted. Jar engaging shoulders 110 are provided in the cartridge 34a to prevent the jar cap from engaging the end plate'l06, and slots 112 are providedin the cylindrical body v 104 to permit more effective entry of the heat treating medium into the capsule. It will be appreciated that the interior of the cartridge 34a may be formed so as tohandle odd shaped articles if desired.

The capsule 38a also includes a carrier36a which is similar to the carrier 36 except that it includes a cylindrical body 114 plication of Raymond 1. Bell for US. Letters Pat. having Ser.

No. 472,976, which issued on' Apr. 18, 1967 as Pat. No.- 7

An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that t the jars J are individually confined within a capsule 38 of a size 1 and shape which may be reliably handled by the several heat treatment vessels. By confining an individual jar in a separate capsulejany defective jar which is broken by thermal or mechanical shock is retained in its capsule until after the capsule has been moved through all of the vessels and is subsequently opened. a

The capsule 38 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 comprises the having'a plurality of perforations 116 therein for permitting water and steam to flow into or out of the capsule. Since the cartridge 34a is of plastic material, the carrier 38a need not include a dish of the type required by capsule 38 since there will be no tendency for the cartridge34a and carrier 36a to magnetically cling to each other.

. CAPSULE LOADER The capsule loader 32 (FIGS. 7-19) receives filled and capped jars .I from a feed conveyor and positions a carrier '36 over each jar. Then the loader telescopes a cartridge 34 into the carrier 36 between the carrier and the. jar, whereby the jar is then enclosed in a capsule. The loaded capsules are then moved by a timing conveyor. 124. (FIG. 7) over a reject mechanism 126 which causes incomplete capsules to drop out of the timing conveyor allowing only properly assembled capsules to move over letdownfing'ers 128 into the atmospheric preheater 40. accommodate v As best shown inthe plan view of FIG. 10, filled jars are received in upright position and in random order on the feed conveyor 130, which may be of the endless belt type and is continuously driven by drive means, such as a motor, not

.shown. As the jars move along the feed conveyor 130, they are guided into a screw type spacing conveyor-132 by guide rails 134 and 136 (FIG. 10), which rails are secured to the frame 138 of the capsule loader 32 by bolts 140 that extend through slots in the rails and permit transverse adjustment of the rails to accommodate jars of different sizes. The spacing conveyor 132 is journaled in bearings I42.which are secured to the frame for transverse adjustment. The pitch of the screw thread 144 of the spacing conveyor gradually increases in the direction of movement of the jars thereby spacing the randomly spaced jars a predetermined distance from each other as they reach the discharge end of the screw conveyor 132.

A resilient guide rail in the form of a spring 146 is stretched between the rail 134 and a rail segment 148 that is adjustably secured to the frame near the discharge end of the screw conveyor 132. The spring 146 provides a resilient guiding surface which is disposed opposite the inlet end of the screw conveyor and will deflect in the event a jar should engage a ridge 132a of a portion of a screw conveyor 132, as it enters the conveyor, rather than being disposed in the valleys 132b between adjacent ridge portions of the screw thread 144. The resistance to forward movement of the jar by the spring 146 will cause such a mispositioned jar to be forced into the next adjacent valley 132b as the jar moves to the left in FIG. 10.

The screw conveyor 132 is driven slower than the feed conveyor 130 and in timed relation with a transfer turret 152 which consists of an annular member 150 that is secured to a shaft 156 and has two rings 151 and 153 integrally formed around its periphery. Pockets 154 are provided in the rings 151 and 153 by fingers 155, the pockets being spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between jars at the discharge end of the screw conveyor 132. The shaft 156 is inclined and is journaled in bearings 158 bolted to the frame of the capsule loader 32.

The provision of the two rings 151 and 153 make it possible to handle both tall and short jars in the turret 152 without requiring any alterations to the turret.'When tall jars are to be handled, the jars are supported by both rings and when short jars are being handled. the lower ring 153 operates alone and provides sufficient jar-supporting surface to prevent twisting or turning of the jar in the pocket while the jar is moved from a vertical to a horizontal position by the turret. A stationary, curved track 160 (FIGS. 8 and 9) is secured to the frame 138 and includes a bottom-engaging section 162 and a side-engaging section 164 which cooperate to retain the jars in their pockets 154 as the jars are moved from the vertical to the horizontal position.

While moving the jars to a horizontal position, the transfer turret 152 moves the jars upwardly through an opening 167 (FIGS. 11 and 12) on the lower side of a stationary drum 168 (FIGS. 8 and 11) which forms the outer shell of the capsule loader 32. While in the drum 168, the carriers 36 and cartridges 34 are moved into telescoping engagement over the jars to confine each jar in one of the capsules 38.

The jars are transferred one at a time from the turret 152 (FIG. 8) onto an arcuate stripper plate 180 which is formed integrally with the shell 168 adjacent the opening 167. The outer or free end of the stripper plate 180 is provided with slots 182 (FIG. defining fingers 183 which extend into the spaces alongside and between the rings 151 and 153 to intercept and strip each jar from the transfer turret. Immediately inside thc opening 167, a jar support and spacer plate 181 is secured to the inside wall of shell 168. This plate 181 may have a tapered leading edge 1810 for guiding each jar up onto the plate which is of a thickness adapted to maintain the jar in slightly spaced relation to the inner wall of the shell so that the carriers can easily be telescoped at a subsequent station around the jar without danger of the bottom of the jar engaging the open end of the carrier as will be explained in more detail hereinafter.

As best shown in FIG. 11, a continuously driven combiner reel 170 is disposed within and is concentric with the shell 168. The reel is mounted on a shaft 172 which is journaled in bearings 173 (FIG; 8) secured to the frame 138 of the capsule loader. The reel 170 includes a pair of spaced wheels 174 and 175 which are keyed to the shaft and have a plurality of equally spaced angle carrier bars 176 secured to the outer periphery of each wheel. The angle bars are spaced sufficiently from each other and from the under surface of the drum 168 (FIGS. 12 and 13) so that jars .l, cartridges 34 and carriers 36, which are fed into pockets 178 defined between adjacent angle bars, will be advanced along the inner surface of the drum 168 upon rotation of the reel 170. As best shown in FIG. 8, the ends of the shell 168 are secured to side plates 184 and 186 which are apertured to receive the reel shaft 172.

The empty carriers 36 are received from the carrier conveyor 58 (FIG. 1) and are directed into a chute 190 (FIG. 11) which communicates with an opening 191 in the shell and guides the carriers 36 through the opening into the reel pockets 178. The empty cartridges 34 are received from the conveyor 56 and are similarly directed through a chute 188 (FIG. 8) which is identical to chute 190 and is arranged to guide the cartridges 34 through an opening 191a (FIG. 12A) in the shell and into the reel pockets 178.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 12A, it will be noted that, when these views are placed end-to-end with transverse lines x-x of I FIG. 12 overlying lines y-y of FIG. 12A, a developed diagrammatic view of the entire inner surface of the shell 168 is provided, the plane of this view being indicated by the circular section lines 12-12 and 12A-12A, respectively, of FIG. 11. Various operations take place as the jars, carriers, and cartridges are moved around the inside of the shell and, in order to locate the positions at which these operations take place, angular positions around the stationary shell have been indicated on FIGS. 12 and 12A. The zero degree position has been chosen to be the lowermost section of the shell at the area of the opening 167. Accordingly, by referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12A it will be recognized that the chutes 188 and 190 through which the carriers and cartridges enter the shell are at approximately the 180, or uppermost area of the shell.

In general, three paths A, B and C (FIGS. 12 and 12A) are defined on the inner periphery of the shell, these paths being indicated by centerlines; The entrance opening 167 is located along the central path B and, accordingly, each jar is placed in the central portion of one of the reel pockets and remains in this central position while it is being encapsulated and finally discharged. The opening 191 (FIG. 12A) through which the carriers 36 enter the shell is disposed along path A and, accordingly, the carriers 36 enter the shell at a point 180 from the point of entry of the jars and at a point spaced laterally from the central path B. As willbe explained presently, the carriers 36 do not remain in path A but are eventually cammed over to path B. Similarly, since the opening 191a (FIG. 12A) through which the cartridges 34 enter the shell is disposed along path C, the cartridges enter the machine at a point spaced laterally from the central path B and are cammed over to path B to encircle a jar and telescope inside the carrier 36 that has been already positioned around the jar.

Referring to FIG. 12A, it will be seen that each carrier 36 enters the shell through opening 191 and is moved to the right along path A by an angle bar 176. During the initial portion of its movement downwardly along the inner surface of the shell, the carrier is confined to movement along path A by two longitudinally extending guide rails 194 and 194a. At approximately the 340 section of the shell, one edge ofthe carrier engages an inwardly slanted rail 194b which guides the carrier inwardly toward path B. After the carrier passes the 0-360 section (FIG. 12), it is moved to approximately the 12 section where it rides up onto a relatively thin plate 200 that is secured to the inner face of the shell and extends to approximately the 130 section. The inwardly slanted guide l94b ends before the section is reached and a straight, longitudinally extending guide bar 1946 forms a continuation of rail 194b to guide the carrier in a straight line as it is moved along path B.

It will be noted in FIG. 12 that, as each carrier bar 176 approaches the 90 section of the shell, the cartridge 34 contacts a plate 201 secured to the inner wall of the shell and the carrier continues on a portion 201a of plate 200, which is thin relative to plate 201, as seen in FIG. 14. These plates urge the cartridge and carrier radially inwardly of the drum so that, as they pass the 90 section, they roll inwardly (FIG. 11) into contact with the upstanding leg 176a of the carrier bar 176. At this time, the inclined guide rail 192b (FIG. 12) has not as yet telescoped the cartridge into the adjacent carrier. In order to leg 176a, and a recess 202 in the capsule supporting leg 176b.

The guide'strip 203 has a slanted surface 205 leading to a'flat surface 205a, and a slanted surface. 206 leading to a recess 2 206a. As seen in FIG. 15, when the carrier 36 with the jar therein is beingmoved upwardly in the general direction of arrow Z toward the 90 section of the shell, it rests in-the recess. 202 of the carrier bar. and has been urged by. the adjacent guide bar 1940 intothe recess 206a of the guide strip 203 on the rear wall of the carrier bar next ahead. Similarly, the cartridge 34 rests on the leg I76b of the carrier bar and has been urged inwardly by guide bar 192b.until it is in abutting faces ,of the cartridges 34 and carriers 36, respectively. The

engagement with the surface205a. As the carrier engages the I thin plate 201. it is urged inwardly into the recess 204 of leg 176a. Thus, as seen in FIG. 16, after the cartridge and carrier 1 a pass the 90 section, they are in alignment such that the cartridge 34 can telescope into the carrier under the further urging of the guide bar 192b(FIG. 12). The telescoping operation continues until the cartridge and carrier reach approximately the I70? section of the shell. As the telescoped unit continues around the shell along the path B, it moves downwardly (FIG. 11) and is finally discharged through an opening 208 in the shell.

port plate 207 (FIG. 7) which forms the floor of a portion of the roller conveyor 124 which includes a pair of spaced vertical mounting plates 210 and 2 12 (FIGS. 7, 17, 18 and 19). One end of each mounting plateis secured tothe frame 138 while the other end is secured to the atmospheric preheater 40 adjacent the feed opening thereof. The feed conveyor 124.

comprises a pair of spaced endless chains 214 and 216 (FIGS.

l719) having a-plurality of rotatable rollers 21.7 carried between the chains at even intervals'The chains are trained around pairs of sprockets 218, 220 and 222, which are keyed to shafts 224, 226 and 228, respectively; The shafts are journaled in bearings 230 secured to the plates 210 and 212.

Thefeed conveyor 124 isdriven in timed relation with the reel 53 of the atmosphericpreheater 40. by a gear 232which is secured to the shaft 236 of the reel 53 and meshes with a gear (FIG. 7) formed on the periphery of the reel 53" in the at-' mospheric preheater 40 as disclosed in the above-mentioned patent to Wilbur No. 2,536,115. 7 i

As indicated in FIG. 7, when the plate 207 into abutting contact with each other. As they roll down the plate, each capsule will be engaged and conveyed, one at a time, away from the following capsules in a predetermined spaced and timed arrangement. The feed conveyor 124.

moves the capsules upwardly pastthe reject mechanism 126 and the letdown fingers 128 prior ,to discharging the capsules into thecarrier bars 55 of the preheater 40.

capsules 38 are discharged from the opening 208 theywill roll down the inclined support The telescoped'units', which will hereinafter be referred to V as capsules, gravitate from the opening along an inclined supguide rails 250 and 252 are likewise connected to the vertical mounting plates '210 and 212, respectively, by suitable brackets 254. A leaf spring 256 has one end bolted to a bracket 258 that is supported by the rail 252, and has its other end projecting through a slot in the rail 252 into the path of movement of the capsules 38 as they move over the rails 244 and 246 of the reject mechanism 126.

As clearly shown in FIG. 19, the spring 256 forces the capsule 38 to the left so that the 'cartridgeof each assembled capsule engages'the guide rail 250 and remains supported by the support rails 244 and 246, while the open end of a carrier 36 without a mating cartridge 34, orthe end plate of a cartridge without the mating carrier will engage the rail 250, causing the for'eshortened unit to falldownwardly between .the supporting rails 244 and 246 and be rejected from the feed conveyor 208.

The properly formed capsules 38, afterimoving past the reject mechanism 126, are moved upwardly along support rails 260 and 262 (FIG. 18)..The rails 260 and 2 62 define extensions of the rails 244 and 246 but are spacedcloser together.

letdown fingers 128 (FIG; 7). project within the atmospheric preheater and into slots (not shown) formed in the carrier bars 55 of the reel 53. Thus, the letdown fingers 128 serve to gently lower the filled capsules 38 into the carrier bars 240 thereby greatly minimizing mechanical shock to the jars within the capsules 38. L

Thedrive for the screw conveyor132, the transfer turret 152, and the combiner.reel l70 isbest shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 1'0 and 11. The drive comprises a variable speed gear motor 276 The reject mechanism 126( FIGS. 7, l5 and16) is provided I to discharge incomplete capsules, that is, a carrier 36 without 1 a mating cartridge 34 or a cartridge withouta mating carrier,

from the feed conveyor l24 prior to entering the atmospheric preheater40. The reject mechanism 126 comprises a pair of upwardly inclinedsu'pport rails 244 and 246(FIG. 17) which are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the length of the carrier. The support rails 244.,and 246 aresupported by the mounting plates 210 and 212, respectively. In orderto maintain properlyassembled capsules 38 centeredland supported (FIG. 11) having an output shaft 278 that is connected by a chaindrive 279 to a slip 'clutch 280 of the type, marketed by the Mercury Clutch Division of Automatic Steel Products,

' lnc., Canton, Ohio under model No. AC-4868. The slip clutch 280 is mounted on and drives a shaft 282 which is journaled in the frame'138 and has a bevel gear 284 (FIG. 10) keyed thereon. The bevel gear 284 meshes with a mating gear 286 that is keyed to oneend of a shaft'288 that is suitably journaled in the frame 138 of the machine and is perpendicular to the shaft 282. A sprocket 290 is keyed to the other end of the and around a takeup sprocket. 296 that is journaled on a bracket 298 adjustably mounted on the frame 138 of the capsule. loader 32. I

The transfer turret 152 is driven from agear 300 which is keyed to the shaft 282 and-meshes wit ha larger gear 302 that is keyed to one end of an intermediate shaft 304. A bevel gear 306 (FIG. 9) keyed to the other end of the intermediate shaft 304 meshes with a bevel gear 308 keyed to the lower end of theturret shaft 156. I

The combiner reel 170 is driven from the gear 302 which meshes with a larger diameter gear 3l0 which is keyed to the reel shaft 172. The direction of rotation of the screw conveyor 132, the transfer turret 152 and the combiner reel 170 is indicated by arrows in FIGS. 7, 8 and 10.

As mentioned previously, the filledcapsules 38 are progreswater which is maintainedat shaft level by suitable controls (not shown) while the heating medium inthe pressure preheater 42 is steam that is maintained at the desired temperature and pressure. Because of the relatively close fit between the cartridges 34 and the carriers 36 when telescoped together asbest shown in FIG. 5,;water is trapped within the capsules by the rails 244 and 246, guide rails 250 and 252 (FIG. 18) are mountedabove the upwardly inclined run, of the chain'con veyor 124 in position to engage the upper portions of the end and is carried from the atmospheric preheater 40 to the pressure preheater 42 when the capsules 38 are transferred from the atmospheric preheater to the pressure preheater. After prolonged operation, the carry-over water deposited in the pressure preheater would build up to such an extent that it would detrimentally affect the operation of the pressure preheater 42 if not removed therefrom.

It is a feature of the invention to provide a water return system 314 (FIG. 3) which not only removes the waterfrom the pressure preheater 42 but also serves to supply makeup water as well as heat to the atmospheric preheater 40. The water return system comprises a conduit 316 that is connected to the bottom portion of the pressure preheater 42 near'the feed end thereof and communicates with a steam trap 318 of the usual well known type which blocks the passage of steam but permits the passage of water. A conduit 320 is connected between the discharge end of the steam trap 318 and the suction opening of a pump 322. A conduit 324 is connected to the discharge opening of the pump 322 and has its free end communicating with the discharge end of the atmospheric preheater 40. The free end of the conduit 324 is preferably disposed slightly below the water level in the atmospheric preheater 40.

Since the flow of water induced by the transfer of capsules 38 from the atmospheric preheater 40 to the pressure preheater 42 is relatively large and could not be entirely accommodated by the steam trap 318, a bypass conduit 326 is connected between the conduits 316 and 320. A-valve 328, such as a control valve that is responsive to the level of water in the preheater 42, is connected in conduit 326 and is effective to prevent the flow of steam therethrough if the water level in the pressure preheater 42 falls below a predetermined level. A manually operated valve may be used in conduit 326 so that conduit 326 may be closed when steam begins to escape from preheater 42. By discharging the carry-over water into the atmospheric preheater 40 near the hot or discharge end thereof as indicated in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that the carryover water will add a substantial amount of heat to the water in the atmospheric preheater 40. Since this addition of heat is at a point where the jars have already been raisedto a temperature near the boiling point of water, the danger of applying an excessive thermal shock to the jars is minimized while the jars are in the atmospheric preheater 40. It will be appreciated that thermal and mechanical shock will also be minimized when the capsules 38 are transferred from the 2l2F. water in the atmospheric preheater 40 to the 235F. steam in the pressure preheater 42 since the carry-over water within the capsules absorbs considerable amount of the heat and acts as a cushion against mechanical shock.

Although the pump 322 has been shown in the water return system 314, it will be appreciated that the pump is not needed and can be eliminated if the pressure within the pressure preheater 342 is sufficient to force the water through the system 314 as it is when the temperature therein is 235F.

After the filled capsules have moved through the atmospheric preheater 40 and pressure preheater 42, the capsules 38 are progressively advanced through the sterilizer 44, the pressure cooler 46, and the atmospheric cooler 48 in the usual manner before being transferred to the capsule unloader 52.

CAPSULE UNLOADER The capsule unloader 52 (FIGS. 1 and 20) includes the twister 50 which receives capsules from the atmospheric cooler 48 with their longitudinal axes disposed horizontally. The twister 50 turns the capsules through 90 so as to move the capsules 38 to an upright position on the upper run 340a (FIG. 20) of a cartridge conveyor 340 with the carriers 36 of the capsules uppermost. The carriers 36 are then magnetically attracted to an upwardly inclined overhead carrier conveyor 342 and are withdrawn from the associated cartridges before being discharged onto the carrier return conveyor 58 for return to the capsule loader 32. The cartridges 34, with the processed jars .l therein, are then conveyed around a magnetic drum 344 (FIGS. 21 and 22) permitting the jars to gravitate onto the upper run of a jar conveyor 346. The cartridges 34 are magnetically held against the lower run 340k of the cartridge conveyor 340 and are gradually lifted upwardly away from the jars. After the cartridges 34 have been lifted clear of the jars, the cartridges are discharged from the unloader 52 onto the cartridge return conveyor 56 (FIG. 1) which returns the cartridges to the capsule loader 32. The processed jars are discharged from the jar conveyor 346 onto any suitable discharge means such as a takeaway conveyor or the like (not shown).

The twister 50 includes a twister conveyor 348 (FIGS. 20 and 21) which is similar to the timing conveyor 124 (FIG. 7) and comprises a pair of endless conveyor chains 350 having a plurality of evenly spaced transverse rollers 352 journaled thereon. The chains 350 are trained around two drive sprockets 354 (FIG. 20) and around driven sprockets 356 keyed to shafts 358 and 360, respectively, (FIG. 21 journaled in the frame 362 of the unloader. The conveyor 348 is continuously driven, causing capsules 38 supported on an inclined gravity ramp 364 to enter between adjacent rollers 352 and to positively advance along the ramp 364 which is twisted thereby causing the capsules 38 to assume an upright position on the cartridge conveyor 340 with the carrier 36 uppermost.

The twister 50 is described and claimed in the aforementioned Milton L. Croall US. Pat. No. 3,314,522. If a more detailed description of the twister 50 is required, reference may be had to the Croall patent.

The continuously driven cartridge conveyor 340 comprises an endless nonmagnetic belt that is trained over the magnetic drum 344 and over guide rollers 368, 370, 372 and 374 keyed to shafts 378, 380, 382 and 384, respectively, which shafts are journaled in the frame 362 of the capsule unloader 52. The drum 344 may be of the type disclosed in the patent to Cmiel No. 3,120,891, and in general comprises a pair of nonmagnetic discs 369 and 371 which have hubs keyed to a shaft 376. A pair of pole strips 373 and375 of magnetic material are disposed near the outer periphery of the discs 369 and 371, respectively, and are bolted to bar magnets 377 which are in turn bolted to the discs 369 and 371. A cylindrical flange 379 is formed integrally on the outer periphery of the disc 369 and is of the same outside diameter as the pole strips 373 and 375. The magnets are oriented so that the north poles are all connected to the strip 373 and the south poles are all connected to the strip 375. Magnetic drums of this type are marketed by the Eriez Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania. The upper run 340a and the lower run 34% of the cartridge conveyor 340 are supported by an elongated subframe 386 (FIGS. 23 and 24) which includes a pair of spaced channel members 388 and 400 that have a plurality of spaced transverse upper and lower angle straps 402 bolted thereto. A longitudinally extending, inverted channel shaped belt guide 404 (FIG. 24) is secured to the upper straps 402 to support the upper run 340a and, elongated capsule guide rails 406 are secured to brackets 408 bolted to the belt guide 404. Spaced belt supporting bars 410 and 412 slidably support the iower run 340b of the conveyor 340 as best illustrated in FIG. 24. The belt supporting bars 410 and 412 are bolted to angle clips 414 and 416 which are, in turn, bolted to the lower transverse angle straps 402.

A plurality of stabilizing permanent magnets 418 (only one being shown in FIG. 24) are disposed below a portion of the downstream end of the upper run 340a of the conveyor 340 and serve to magnetically attract the cartridges 34 and pull them down to the upper run 340a of the belt to stabilize the cartridges after the carriers 36 have been withdrawn therefrom. The common poles of the magnets 418 are bolted to flat magnetic rails 420 and 422, which extend from point D (FIG. 21) to point E, and the belt guide 404 which supports the belt is secured to brackets 424 that are bolted to the upper angle straps 402. As seen in FIG. 24, each magnet 418 is a horseshoe magnet, and they are so oriented that the rails 420 and 422 constitute north and south poles, respectively. If desired a nonmagnetic wear strip 421 may be connected across the rails. Similarly, a plurality of cartridge lifting horseshoe magnets 426 are secured to.fIatJdoWnwardIy-facingmagnetic rails 428 and 430 which extend along lowerrun 3401) from 'the' magnetic drum 344 (FIG. 2l)'to a cartridge discharge point 432 at the discharge end of the lower run 34% of the cartridge as they move around the drum 344 in clockwise direction (FIG. 21 a plurality of equally spaced horseshoe magnets 442 are secured to arcuate magnetic rails 443 (FIGS. '22 and 23) which are suitably secured to the frame 362 of the capsule unloader 52 and engage. the side surfaces ofthe cartridges 34 to further stabilize the. cartridges as they move around the drum; A semicylindrical'guide rail 444 (FIG. 22)1is disposed around the drum in position to hold the jars within their cartridges 34 and to guide them onto the jar conveyor 346. The guide rail 444 has angle brackets 448 and 450 welded thereto, which brackets are bolted to the frame 362 of the capsule unloader 52. i

, The continuously driven carrier conveyor 342 comprises an endless nonmagnetic belt 456 (FIG. 21) that is trained around a drive roller 458, an idler roller 460, around five idler rollers 462, and around a takeup roller464. The rollers 458 and Y460 are keyed to shafts 466 and 468, respectively. The idler rollers 462 are keyed to shafts 463 and the takeup roller 464 is keyed to a shaft 469. The shafts of conveyor 342 are journaled in bearings that are bolted to elongated upwardly inclined channel members 470 and 472 (FIG. 24) of a carrier conveyor subbrackets 482. A plurality of carrier magnets 492 have their common'polcs secured to magnetic rails494 and 496 (FIG.

brackets 498. FIG. 26 discloses a typical mounting for all of the horseshoe magnets used in the machine. Y

As the capsules'38 move along the cartridgeconveyor 340 under the carrier conveyor 342 the carriermagnets 492, some of whichare shown in phantomin FIG. Z L'magneticaIIy attract the carriers 36 and gradually lift the carriers free from the cartridges 34. As the carriers approach the. discharge end of the carrier conveyor 342, the spacing of the magnets 492 is increased thereby reducing the magnetic force attracting the carriers. v V I i The discharge chute .500 comprises six curved rods 502 which are welded to several generally rectangular frame members 504 and slidably engage the ends and sides of the carriers 36. The upper end of the chute 500 is bolted to the-belt guides 484 and 486 and is positioned to receive the carriers 36. The uppermost curved rod 502a is shorter than the other rods 502; and the last magnet 492a, (FIG. 22) as well as the associated magnetic rails. are positioned so that the carriers 36 will be completely released from the conveyor 342 at a point between the forward end of the rods 502' and the forwardend of the upper rod 502a. The chute 500 then guides the freed carriers 36 onto the carrier return conveyor 58 (FIG. 1) which returns the carriers to the capsule loader 32. W p

As best illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23. as the cartridges and jars traveling along conveyor run 340a approach the magnetic drum 344. they are deflected by a cam plate 506 to the right (FIG. 22 of the vertical plane of movement of the carriers 36 which are supported'by' the conveyor 342-Thus the normal path of the cartridges 34 is not directly under the'path of the carriers 36 but is to one side thereof and, therefore if a car-' tridge 34 becomes wedgedin the associated carrier and projects downwardlytherefrom, the defective carrier and cartridge will not be carried over the guide rail 444'around drum 344 but will be advanced past the side ofthe guide rail 444 be- 9 (FIG. 21) which comprises an endless belt l6 that is trained After the cartridges 34 and jars J move around the magnetic drum 344, the jars are received on the jar conveyor 346, and the cartridges 34 are magnetically attracted to the lower run 340b of the cartridge conveyor 340 as previously described. The cartridges 34 are advanced by the cartridge conveyor 340 to the cartridge discharge point 432 (FIG. 21) at which point the magnetic attraction terminates and the cartridges are released into a cartridge chute 508 which comprises a plurality of curved rods 510 thatlare weldedyto and held in spaced relation by rectangular frame members 512. The chute 508 is bolted to the subframe 386 with'its upper end disposed in position to receive the empty cartridges 34from the cartridge conveyor 340. The forward end 514 of the uppermost rod 510a terminates downstream of the ends of the other rods 510 so I that the upper side of the chute is open and the cartridges may freely drop into the chute 508 upon loss of magnetic attraction and be guided by the chute onto the cartridge return conveyor 56(FIG.1). v

. The processed jars J are received on the jar conveyor 346 around a drive roller 518, a drivenroller 520, and around idler I rollers 522. The drive roller 518 is keyed to a shaft 524 journaled in bearings 526 secured to the frame 362 of the capsule unloader 52. The driven roller 520 is keyed to a shaft 528 journaled in bearings of a take-up device 530 that is secured to the frame 362 in the usual manner. The idler rollers are keyed to shafts 532 (FIG..24) journaled in bearings 534 secured to channel members 536 and 538 of a subframe 540.

A plurality of straps 542 are secured to the lower edges of the channel members 536 and 538. and a plurality of angle brackets 544 are secured to the upper edges of the channel members. As best shown in FIG. 24, an inverted channel belt guide 546 is secured to the angle brackets 544 by angle clips 548 and cooperating cap screws. The processed jars are conveyed off thedischarge endof the jar conveyor 346 onto any I 26). and the rails are secured 'to the angle brackets 482by suitable collecting means such asfa takeaway conveyor (not shown).

The drive train 550 (FIGS. 21 and 25) for the capsule unloader 52 receives power from a variable speed motor 552 which is connected'by a chain drive 553 to the drive shaft 554 of a right-angle gear. box v556. The output shaft 558 of the gearbox 556 is connected by achain' drive 560 to the twister conveyor drive shaft 358 which is suitably journaled on the frame 362 of the capsule unloader52. A drive gear 562, keyed on the twister conveyor drive shaft 358. meshes with a driven gear 564 keyed on a shaft 566 journaled on the frame of the unloader. The shaft 566 is coupled to the drive shaft 567 of the rightangle gear unit 568 which has its output shaft coupled to a multisectioned drive shaft 572'which extends Iongitudinally'of the unloader 52. The drive shaft 572 is coupled to the input end of a right angle gear unit574 which has its output shaft coupled tothe drive shaft 4660f the carrier conveyor 342 thereby driving the conveyor342 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 21. d

An intermediateright angle gear unit 578 is coupled to the shaft572 and has its output shaft coupled to a vertical shaft 582 which is coupled to a rightangle gear .unit 586. The output shaft of unit 586 is coupled to a gear shaft 588 that is journaled on the frame 362 of the unloader 52. A drive gear 590 keyed on the shaft 588 meshes with a driven gear 592 keyed on the drive shaft 524 of the jar conveyor 346 and drives the OPERATION Although the operation of the apparatus of the present in- .vention has been included with the description of the several conveyor (FIG. 7) into engagement with the screw con- 

